


home

by akumatised (emeraldine)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Slow Burn, idk man i always forget what tags to use, ish?, some naive niceness before the destruction of s7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 09:11:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15637650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emeraldine/pseuds/akumatised
Summary: “I’ve been thinking a lot about home lately,” she says, looking over at him.His face falls in sympathy, but Allura simply smiles, shaking her head.“Lance, I’m not talking about Altea."//in which the paladins finally reach earth, and allura begins to understand that home can mean a lot of things. maybe even a boy from cuba with blue eyes and unwavering devotion.





	home

**Author's Note:**

> so.. I wanted to have this finished and published before season 7 destroyed all my allurance hopes and dreams because I can guarantee it won't be as joyous in canon as this is, but.. here we are.
> 
> listen to [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPwXgSlgpHE) if ya want while you're reading for soft chill beachy vibes and kinda relevant lyrics ???
> 
> and also [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmPHoaj3vIc) for even more chill beach vibes ?? + fluffy romantic lyrics

Earth, Allura has come to learn, is every bit as beautiful as her fellow paladins make it out to be.

The landscapes and countrysides are stunning, the food is wonderful, and the cities bring with them a buzz that unexpectedly thrills her. This planet is so similar to yet simultaneously so unlike all the others she’s visited, and she falls in love with it immediately. She expects to feel that pang of wistful longing for Altea that she’s felt every time she’s gone somewhere new, but it’s become a dull ache, numbed and shielded from her attention by every new thing that attracts her focus.

Admittedly, she feels a little strange with her human ears and lack of Altean markings, but there’s an excitement to flying under the radar and letting the paladins dress her up in what’s considered “normal” human fashion while she walks unfamiliar streets. She gets to feel like someone else; a different young woman with no cares and no worries, seeing the world with her best friends by her side.

It’s exhilarating. 

On their first night, she finds herself on the balcony of her motel room, looking up at the stars and thinking about Altea. She remembers the life she used to have, the times where her family unit was made up of three members and the days where her worries weren’t so life-threatening. They’re fond memories, but that’s all they’ll ever be now.

But shockingly, sitting on an old chair in an old motel somewhere on Earth looking up at the sky she used to call home, she’s okay with that.

She’s beginning to think the word home means something different now.

 

///

 

When she meets all of the paladins’ families, the thought comes back to surprise her. Where something like this would have once filled her with grief and longing and jealousy, she feels only joy for her friends as she sees them reunite with their loved ones. Hunk’s huge family introduces her to a culture that is vibrant and vivid and warm and fills her heart with wonder, Pidge’s freshly-reunited and now-inseparable family brings a sense of joy to Allura’s soul, and meeting the few close mentors and friends Shiro and Keith called family back on Earth makes her smile. To see, over and over again, the complete shock and happiness on the faces of all the paladins’ loved ones as they see their sons, daughters, siblings and friends again for the first time brings a tear to her eye and warms her heart. And she finds herself surprised, yet again, to find that that old familiar homesickness doesn’t pain her the way it used to.

Meeting Lance’s family is a total shock, though.

Oh, not his family themselves. They’re every bit as vivacious and loud and over-the-top as she’d expect them to be, and the way they weep for their baby boy and welcome his new friends with open arms doesn’t surprise her in the slightest. But it’s as they’re sitting at the enormous family dinner table, laughing and joking like they’ve all known each other for forever, that it hits her.

It's _ Lance  _ that's different.

He’s not reserved, exactly. She’s not concerned at all that he might be retreating in the presence of his larger-than-life family. But she finds herself watching him in the low light, as he watches his loved ones with glittering eyes.

The happiness within him is palpable even across the table, and she now understands every whining complaint he’s ever made about missing home. He’s completely content in this moment, surrounded by those he loves most in the world. But where she’d expected his happiness to be all broad grins and over exaggerated retellings of all their adventures and endless teasing back and forth with his siblings, instead, it manifests in gentle smiles and quietly helping his mother cook and squeezing his sisters’ hands every so often during dinner. He’s softened, unbelievably so, and yet, despite how jarring the revelation is, Allura realises this is not a new thing.

He hasn’t been bad pickup lines and loud complaints about training for a long time. The shift to something new had been so subtle she finds herself wondering if any of the other paladins have noticed it, or are noticing it now. He doesn’t have to be the centre of attention anymore. He no longer speaks for the sake of speaking. When he’s with those he loves, he’s content to just  _ be _ .

And  _ those he loves _ , she realises with a start, now includes her.

And the other paladins, of course.

She tries to will herself not to think about the fact that he doesn’t talk to the mice about how he feels about the other paladins, but it’s all in vain because she’s thinking about it anyway and her cheeks are definitely hot and right in that moment he looks up and catches her looking at him, and his soft smile lifts even more at the corners and maybe it’s a trick of the light but his eyes seem to be even more aglow; and it’s all too much for one girl to handle.

She looks away and tries to pretend the whole moment hasn’t just happened and she’s not swimming in a mess of mortification and bashful confused bliss. Tries not to wonder if maybe Lance isn’t the only paladin who’s different now.

 

///

 

She finds herself looking at the stars again. Lance’s family lives right near the beach (of course), and she can hear the soft ripple of waves and count the stars from the chairs in their garden. Of all the new sights she's seen since arriving on Earth, the beaches have to be some of the best. Sure, there are beaches on other planets, but somehow, the water in Cuba is more luminous; the crashing waves more thrilling. She never expected to find a planet that rivaled Altea in beauty, but somehow, despite its flaws, Earth has become Altea’s equal to her.

Lance’s sister Veronica interrupts her musings, sitting beside her with a soft “hey”. 

“You're not sick of us already, are you?” she jokes.

Allura laughs. “No, not at all.”

“Good, because you're gonna be seeing a lot more of us when you guys next come back to Earth.”

Allura looks over, brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Veronica’s eyes are glinting with mischief, and suddenly Allura doesn't know if she wants to know the answer to that question. 

“You know, because you and Lance will be dating.”

“I'm sorry, what?”

But Veronica just laughs. “Come on. It's so obvious the two of you are into each other. We all saw you gazing into each other's eyes back there.”

Allura feels her cheeks warm immediately. “I- I wasn't-”

“Honey, there's no need to deny it. I mean, he's head over heels for you too. Honestly I've never seen him like this over anyone.”

Allura remembers, again, the words he'd confessed to the mice.  _ I've never felt this way about anyone.  _ She can't even try to deny how those words make her feel; not anymore.

“He's a great kid, isn't he?” Veronica says softly, all trace of humour gone. Against her will, Allura's lips quirk up in a smile.

“Yes,” she agrees quietly. “Yes, he is.”

That night, she makes a decision.

 

//

 

He finds her by the motel pool the next night, kicking her feet absentmindedly.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“That's definitely one of Earth’s weirder expressions,” she replies.

“Yeah, you're not wrong,” he laughs, settling beside her.

She breathes in, summoning all the courage she can. She can feel his eyes on her; prompting, but not insistent.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about home lately,” she says, looking over at him.

His face falls in sympathy, but Allura simply smiles, shaking her head.

“Lance, I’m not talking about Altea.”

“I.. I’m not following.” He's clearly confused.

“I haven't been thinking about Altea these past few weeks. Well, that's not exactly true. I  _ have  _ been thinking about it. But I haven't been  _ mourning _ the home I lost. I've realised.. I've gained a whole new home, being on this journey with you all. A whole new family.

I  _ love  _ Earth. It's beautiful. And I thought that it would bring back that pain of losing Altea, but instead it only highlighted to me the fact that I have so much more now than I did before. Back then, I didn't have the kind of friends I could call family. My friendships were superficial; based solely on the fact that those I interacted with were around my age and of a similar social standing. The hardest part about being a royal was that other than my family, I never knew who genuinely cared about me. But I've found that through Voltron. This feeling, it took me by surprise. I hadn't really realised I felt that way until we came to Earth.” She shrugs, not knowing where to go from there, and glances over at Lance to find his eyes brimming with unshed tears.

“Sorry, don't mind me- my emotions are all out of whack since I saw my family again. I'd probably cry at the sight of a dog crossing the street at this point,” he laughs, wiping his eyes. “But honestly, Allura, you have no idea how happy that makes me.”

She smiles, feeling a flutter in her stomach that, now that she thinks about it, isn't a new thing. She's been feeling this way for a little while now, if she's being honest. She's just been ignoring it.

“You rather took me by surprise too, you know,” she says quietly, unable to look directly at him.

She can see him turn to face her in her peripheral vision, but still, she doesn’t look to see the expression on his face. “How so?” he says slowly; cautiously.

“I had you pegged as a ridiculous flirt from day one,” she recalls with a wry smile. He laughs beside her.

“I thought that was all there was to you. Don’t get me wrong, I knew you were skilled and capable- in fact, I assumed that was where your confident bravado came from. But over time I learned that you had your own insecurities and sensitivities, and a lot of the show you would put on was just that. It was a mask. But what I didn’t expect was to see you grow and blossom in that area, into somebody who no longer needed to ‘toot their own horn’, as you say, because you’d begun to understand your worth. I didn’t expect that sensitivity of yours to manifest in such unbelievable compassion. I didn’t expect that flirtiness to become genuine encouragement; and I didn’t expect that encouragement to become such an important and necessary thing for me.

You’ve changed dramatically since this all began. The person you are now doesn’t need to put on a show or try to win admirers. Who you genuinely are is kind and strong enough to charm anyone.”

She chances a glance out of the corner of her eye to see he, too, is looking down, cheeks red. 

“Last night at dinner, it was so clear. I’d expected these extravagant retellings of our adventures, and all the bravado you used to put on. But seeing you so comfortable, so content; I knew that you knew you didn’t need that. You didn't need to be the centre of attention. The way you cared for your family was so subtle; so gentle. It was beautiful.  _ You _ were.. You were beautiful.”

“What.. What are you saying?” he whispers.

“Lance.. the mice told me what you said to them”, she says slowly.

He inhales sharply, face even redder than before. “Dammit”, he says under his breath. Then he shrugs. “Well, I mean, you knew anyway; it's not like it was a surprise.”

“Well that's the thing”, she says hesitantly. “I didn't know, really. You flirted with me, obviously, but I never imagined you’d actually develop real feelings for me.”

“What? Allura, are you kidding? You're-”

“I didn't expect to develop real feelings for you either.”

He's completely silent, and when she tentatively glances over at him he's frozen in shock. Despite her embarrassment, she forges on. He deserves to have an understanding of the full picture.

“You grew on me without me even noticing. I began to really admire you, and when I became the blue paladin and you moved on to Red, something shifted. I felt closer to all the paladins, of course, now being one myself, but.. there was a bond between you and I, now. I was so proud of you for becoming the most supportive right hand man I'd ever known, and so grateful to you for allowing me to pilot your lion without complaint. I know the bond you and Blue have is special, and yet you never tried to stand in my way.

Then, Lotor happened. It was easy for me to get swept up in all his ideas of saving the universe and ruling it side by side, and.. well, you know what a born charmer he was. I fell for it; we all did. After I learned of his betrayal I thought it'd be a long time before I trusted anyone - or myself - in a relationship.

But I didn't  _ have _ to learn to trust someone new. Because the person I found myself noticing, the person I found myself drawn to despite my attempts to deny it... I already trusted him with my life. He was already someone I knew I could rely on no matter the circumstances. And when I realised that not only did he care for me as more than a friend but  _ I _ felt the same way, well…”

There's hope in his eyes as she looks over at him, and the barest hint of a smile on his face. “Y-you- I- really? You really mean that?”

She laughs, all trace of worry or nervousness gone. “I really do. You're wonderful, Lance,” she says, placing a hand on his cheek. He inhales sharply at the contact, eyes still on hers and still full of wonder.

“I just.. Wow.” He chuckles bashfully. “I don't know what to say.”

“You don't have to say anything”, she replies with a smile. “You should know, though.. Obviously, it hasn't been all that long since Lotor. First and foremost, I want you to know that you're not a - a 'rebound’? Is that what you call it? I'm not telling you how I feel in the hopes that I'll forget about the pain Lotor caused. I'm not pursuing this because I'm lonely, or because I just want to be with someone. I wouldn't devalue you like that. But that being said, the betrayal I felt after Lotor’s deception is something I'm still dealing with. I don't want to rush into something even if I know my intentions are pure. I think I'll need some time to process my grief and come to terms with it.”

“Allura, you can have as much time as you need”, he responds seriously. “Your hurt and pain are real and they'll need some time and work to heal. I’d rather be your friend through that process than unintentionally hurt you because we rushed into things. And honestly, I still can't even believe we're having this conversation in the first place, so I'm already living the dream!”

“Still a charmer”, she says, rolling her eyes. 

“You like it”, he teases.

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

 

//

 

As expected, it takes some time. But as promised, Lance is perfectly patient.

It’s been about three months by the time she decides she’s ready. They’ve just come out of one of their riskiest battles yet, and with a fresh understanding of just how quickly and easily her loved ones could be taken from her, she knows. She’s not wasting any more time.

They run to each other the minute they’re out of the lions. She can feel the other paladins’ gazes on them, and she knows they’re waiting in anticipation. They haven’t been blind to the building closeness between herself and Lance. There’s no way they could have been. But she doesn’t care about how they may react, or the fact that they’re blatantly watching. It’s time.

“That was too close”, he whispers into her shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around her. She can feel the heaving of his chest, and the erratic beating of her heart.

“Lance,” she says, pulling away and looking him in the eye. His eyes widen, asking a question. She nods.

Then she kisses him.

**Author's Note:**

> im about to watch s7 so feel free to cry with me in the comments bc im sure ill be doing a lot of crying


End file.
